How Bad is Kerobokan Prison?

I want to see the word laogai in every dictionary in every language in the world. I want to see the laogai ended. Before 1974, the word 'gulag' did not appear in any dictionary. Today, this single word conveys the meaning of Soviet political violence and its labour camp system. 'Laogai' also deserves a place in our dictionaries.

-- Harry Wu
the laogai are Chinese labour camps.

Kerobokan prison has been the subject of a recent book by Kathryn Bonella titled 'Hotel K'. The prison has been described and characterized as a veritable hellhole that people battle to survive in. However, as Bonella notes in her book, the guards are corrupt and life's little luxuries are always available for the right price.

Kerobokan houses Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine.

Yet, what inspired this post, aside from the above quote, was that I read recently that Kerobokan makes Guantanamo Bay look like a five star resort. Now, I have not been to Cuba so I cannot say with authority however it strikes me as unlikely that favours and better conditions are for sale there.

The reality of Kerobokan is that prisoners with resources can purchase a cell 'upgrade' and enjoy some of the finer things of prison life such as delivered food and freedom to roam.

Prison is not supposed to be summer camp. You are supposed to be punished for crimes that you have committed. I am sure that Kerobokan is not a nice place, and I am sure that I am glad I am not inside. However, to compare it to places like Guantanamo Bay or to suggest it is the worst prison in Asia or the world undermines the credibility of those making such comments. It also serves to shine light on the ways in which prisoners of means can play the system and garner more favourable conditions during they forced stay.

Is Kerobokan the worst prison in Indonesia? No. Is Kerobokan the worst prison in Asia? No. Is Kerobkan the worst prison in the world? No. Is it a fun place to be? No!

I wonder if Schapelle has benefited from the 'corruption' of Kerobokan and upgraded her cell or enjoyed any other benefits that money can buy?

Hambali and the Bali Bombings

Riduan Isamuddin (AKA Hambali) was arrested in Thailand in 2003, and after having been the alleged recipient of some free travel around the world to a number of ghost prisons, ended up in Guantanamo Bay as a guest of the US. This is presumably for the duration of the war on terror. However, since Barack Obama has taken office, it has become a little uncertain as to what lies ahead for some of these detainees.

In any event, there is little doubt that Hambali gave up a fair bit of intelligence under the enhanced interrogation techniques used on him, like waterboarding. Nevertheless, even with the favourable rules of evidence that the military tribunals were going to be working under, the US has some doubts that it could currently make a case against Hambali for the Bali Bombings. Hambali was the head of a Jemaah Islamiyya cell that had operational responsibilities for Malaysia and Singapore. This cell was known as Mantiqi One.

The problem is apparently not a lack of evidence, but rather a lack of evidence that prosecutors would be able to adduce and then use in court to prove Hambali's guilt. Nevertheless, it is generally thought that Hambali ordered the targeting of "soft targets" and was the main man when it came to funding the bombings.

Yet, the US authorities are a lot more confident that they can link him to a string of other bombings in Indonesia. It has only been this year that the Indonesian authorities have been granted access to Hambali for interrogation purposes. This is interesting in itself as the majority of Hambali's alleged crimes have occurred in Indonesia and have predominantly killed Indonesians. The two series of bombings that the authorities believe present as the strongest cases against Hambali are the Marriott bombing of 2003 and the Christmas Eve bombings.

If the military tribunals are reconvened, and the rules are not drastically changed, then it would seem that military prosecutors would seek to see Hambali charged with murder and then pursue the death penalty for him.

Wikileaks -- Real Anonymous Whistleblowing

There is a lot of talk about online or cyber-activism but what does that really mean. I should have written about this particular site earlier. Wikileaks is an online activist site plus plus. It is more like a forum for online dissidents. These dissidents are anonymous but are responsible for putting into the public sphere confidential and secret documents.

This ability will ultimately outstrip the need for a freedom of information legislation as people can upload documents almost completely anonymously. I guess though, one should never under-estimate "big brother" and the reach that they have. It might not all be black helicopters and secret troops but it is kind of surprising that the Australian founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, is still able to claim that not one of the leak sources have been uncovered.

There are now some 1.2 million documents on the site and not one has been censored or removed since being uploaded. This suggests that the documents have withstood all critical evaluation. The site had been focused primarily on corporate deals and government. However, there has been a recent shift in focus to the upload of documents that focus on the more shady sides of religion, cult, and celebrity.

This has seen documents uploaded about Wesley Snipe's tax problems, including his tax returns and bill. Other documents about Church of Scientology and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Wikileaks claims to have been responsible for swinging the Kenyan election by releasing document that showed that the then Kenyan leader, Daniel Arap Moi, siphoned off billions of dollars in government money. Other claims that Wikileaks make are that it was the first site to make available the US Rules for Engagement in Iraq and also the Operations Manual for Guantanamo Bay detention facility. This Operations Manual highlighted how the US was going to hide certain detainees from the International Red Cross.

In a mark of credibility, Wikileaks has been referenced 662 times on nytimes.com, 207 times on guardian.co.uk, and 86 times on washingtonpost.com.

Assange, grew up in Australia but moved to East Africa two years ago and has worked as a security consultant, professional hacker, activist and researcher during that time.

So, if any of my readers have documents in their possession that might be considered to blow the lid on some kind of issue, then consider uploading them to Wikileaks. You might not get any credit for exposing the deceit of others but it might just make the world a better place.

Death Penalty for al-Qaeda 'Terrorists'

The Military Tribunals to be held and Guantanamo Bay has seen the Prosecutors list six detainees that have now been charged and indicted with conspiracy, murder in violation of the laws of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, destruction of property, terrorism, and material support for terrorism. Four were also charged with hijacking or hazarding an aircraft.

The six are:

• Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind;
• Walid bin Attash, who allegedly trained two hijackers;
• Ramzi bin al-Shibh, an alleged would-be hijacker but denied a visa to enter US;
• Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, alleged financier of the plot;
• Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, who allegedly provided material support (money and clothes); and
• Mohammed al-Qahtani, the alleged 20th hijacker

The US military has said that the hearings are to be held in a manner that will allow the defense to have access to and contest all of the evidence that the prosecution intends to adduce before the tribunal.

This would seem to be contrary to earlier statements and attempts in other similar cases where the US government has tried to claim among other things the necessity to keep some evidence secret as revealing its source will directly impact on national security. It seems unlikely that the prosecution would not be attempting the same methods to circumvent traditional rules of evidence and the rights to a fair trial in these cases as well.

The defendants have the right to appeal and this process would ultimately lead to the US Supreme Court. However, the issue that is most likely to be the subject of appeal is any confessions from the defendants that are admitted into evidence. By the US government's own admission they tortured Khalid Sheik Mohammed through the use of waterboarding (simulated drowning) and it is likely to be submitted by the defense that the US government permitted the use of 'enhanced' interrogation techniques against the others.

Enhanced interrogation techniques here must be understood to be treatment that borders on torture, or perhaps even falls within the gambit of torture, but under some suspect White House Counsel or US Justice Department memo that states that the President may authorize such treatment to be carried out.

The US government has backed away from these memos publicly but whether it has done so in practice is unclear. The US government will maintain that all the interrogation techniques that the used at the time were legal at that time and were therefore valid. In essence, even if these techniques have since been declared illegal, invalid, or have become of quesionable legality, it does not matter because at the time they were legal under US law.

My early posts clearly indicate that I am not for the death penalty. I am for justice! Terrorists need to be punished and they should rot in jail for the rest of their natural lives. But justice must not only be seen to be done but must be done. Therefore, it is crucial that the process be credible, be justifiable, and be legal! Without this any conviction would be a hollow one and the imposition of the death penalty unjustifiable.

I accept international law allows for the death penalty to be imposed in death penalty states, but the process must always be above reproach. If the State is going to sanction the killing of human beings then the process must evidence that all opportunites were afforded to the defense to make and state their case.